Success comes quickly for Taylor Swift

The 18-year-old platinum country star from Berks is up for a Grammy tonight.

February 10, 2008|By Kelly-Anne Suarez Of The Morning Call

In 2007, the Nashville Songwriters Association International named Swift Songwriter/Artist of the Year. The Country Music Association honored her with the "Horizon Award," bestowed on country's rising stars. Past winners include Randy Travis, Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks. Swift sang her latest single, "Our Song" at the 2007 awards show.

Swift's former choral director at Wyomissing Area Junior-Senior High School, Sharon Luyben, watched that show nervously. Luyben remembers thinking Swift's legs looked "a little too skinny" and was worried she'd trip in her very high heels. "That's the way I saw it," she says -- with "a mother's eye."

Luyben still sees the country star as the sweet, effusive sixth-grader who played Louisa in the school's production of "The Sound of Music" and who unanimously won the junior high chorus's "Wyo Idol" contest by rocking out on her 12-string guitar.

Among all of her old friends, Cara Wojciechowski may be her most loyal. The 14-year-old Wyomissing eighth-grader met Swift at age 9, when Cara played Marta in "The Sound of Music."

Swift, who was four years her senior, took Cara under her wing. She'd sing for Cara, let her play with her guitar and console her when playground jests turned cruel. The Swifts and Wojciechowskis spent weeks at the shore together..

Cara has mapped her path to resemble her role model's.

"It's kind of scary, but I've based my whole life on what she's done. I love country because of Taylor, obviously," she says. "I play the guitar because of Taylor. I write music because of Taylor."

This type of sentiment is echoed again and again by fans on Swift's MySpace Web page, which has 29,293,872 hits and counting.

Swift says knowing how many people love her and look up to her keeps her grounded. "You can't sell 2.5 million records without 2.5 million people helping you. The fans are the only reason I'm here."

kelly.suarez@mcall.com

610-820-6530

TAYLOR SWIFT

Age: 18

Hometown: Wyomissing, Berks County

Records broken: Youngest person in country music history to singlehandedly craft a No. 1 single ("Our Song"). First female solo artist in country music history to write every song on a double-platinum debute record.